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BALTIMORE (AP) — Two former Loyola College students are suing the school and city police for $2 million, claiming they were arrested without cause at the request of campus police and then beaten by other inmates in the city’s lockup.

“The school tells the parents of students that the students will be protected,” said Michael P. May, an attorney for the students. “The campus police’s function is to protect the students, and here they engage in behavior that is just the opposite.”

“They were not intoxicated, they weren’t disruptive, they weren’t mouthy. They really weren’t doing anything,” Mr. May said. “It’s pretty scary when you think about it.”

Mark L. Kelly, director of public relations for Loyola, said the college does not comment on pending litigation.

According to the complaint, Mr. Duffy and Mr. Geary, both 21-year-old seniors at the time, were walking on campus near the Gallagher Park student residence complex in September 2002 when they were stopped by campus police Officer Jeff Prawdzik, who then asked a city police officer to arrest them.

The two were placed in a holding cell at the city’s Central Intake and Booking Facility. In the cell, they were severely beaten by other detainees while employees at Central Booking did nothing to stop the beating, according to the complaint.

“Obviously, nobody was doing much checking,” Mr. May told the Baltimore Daily Record on Wednesday. “They beat … them.”

The screening unit of the State’s Attorney’s Office of Baltimore City later reviewed the paperwork and determined there was no probable cause to arrest the students, the complaint states.

Mr. Duffy, who has undergone plastic surgery for facial injuries he sustained in the attack, left school without graduating. Mr. Geary graduated from Loyola.

In addition to Loyola College and city police, the suit names Officer Prawdzik and the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services as defendants.

Matt Jablow, a spokesman for the Baltimore Police Department, did not return a call seeking comment on the suit.